Inkling

Breaking Jail

Felix shivered in his threadbare sheets. He opened his eyes found himself in a small cell, the only illumination was the ghostly moon shining through the bars. Then the reality of the situation struck him. His family will be without money for the winter. Without him, there will be no food on the table. He jumped up, feeling scared.

KeruA tried to speak to him "Feli-"

Boom

"You could try-"

Boom

The door held and barely moved under Felix's desperate assault. He kept on launching himself at the door, ignoring the pain, until he collapsed in a sobbing heap. Clunking footsteps echoed up the hall from his small cell. Felix couldn't see, but KeruA forced its way through the smallest gap in the food slot. "...So who've you got this time?" Someone said, suddenly very loud. Felix jumped, taking valuable time to realise KeruA was conveying all the sounds and sensations from the other side of the door. Too late on the uptake, his cell door ground open and two guards towered over him. "Him" the other guard said. He was shorter with too many creases between his eyes, as if he were always bad-tempered. Felix recognised him as one of the guards who had caught him at the gates. it was he that roughly grabbed his shoulders and pinned his arms behind his back. KeruA stayed spread out, tiny feelers dispersed through the air and the ground in an attempt to discover an escape. Felix tried to wriggle free of the man's grip but he held tighter. "No escaping this time eh? " he snarled. Hatred seemed to radiate off him. The other guard looked bemused, but didn't prevent his companion from dragging and shoving Felix cruelly. They reached a larger, though equally dank room. The floor was dark and mottled with filth. The guard threw him to the floor and secured a shackle to Felix's ankle, which was pegged down into the pockmarked stone. "So you really think this scrawny thing is a Dishonest?" the taller guard finally asked.

"Imbeciles" KeruA growled. He faked stumbling and launched himself at the man holding him. Pain shot through his ankle as the peg stayed firm, but Felix fell, clutching his captor and smashing him to the floor. instantly, guards swept forward and restrained Felix. The taller guard appeared bemused and impressed. Following the perimeter of the room with his eyes, there was a hewn stage behind the line of guards, followed by- "Our only escape, unfortunately" KeruA said. KeruA's tendrils stretched far and wide, but detected nothing beneath him, or even above him except the same, cruel stone he was standing on. The clicking of fine boots announced the arrival of a true authority figure- those Felix had come to despise. Neatly dressed and a haughty figure to match, "You have been accused of being involved directly with behaviours associated with a Dishonest." Apart from the look of profound disgust, there wasn't a single hint he disbelieved the boy standing before him was innocent. "Its not true, sir-" Felix burst out in the need to defend himself. The official held up a hand, silencing him. "You will give testimony... with our Head of Interrogation of Dishonests." He gestured towards a brutish man who obviously had no skill in interrogation. This appeared to be the cue for everyone to leave. His pockets clinked, though it was the hammer in his hand that was ominous. there was a good reason why the floor was so full of dents and cracks, and also why the room was grimiest around the peg Felix was chained to. As everyone filed out silently, the man grinned evilly, and removed several nails out of his pockets and began to decide which size would be best to begin with. "no" Felix said in horror. His voice echoed hopelessly around the room. "No!" he said again, panic rising fast. His wrist was pressed to the cold rock and he felt the tip of the nail digging into his hand, right above his index knuckle. The hammer fell, Felix shut his eyes. Bone shattering, Blood running, he was in more pain than he could ever imagine. He screamed, though he knew no one would hear him. He refused to look at his mutilated hand. Another one, crashing into the next knuckle. Everything was growing faint to Felix. Even his screams seemed dim, the world fizzling out. In KeruA's efforts to resist blocking out the agony, the ground began to crack all around its tendrils. the torturer was screaming this time, ink leaping out of the widening cracks and knocking him to the ground. Felix stopped screaming, ceased fighting. His eyes shut and he slumped to the ground. Black markings ran across Felix's skin, reconnecting his fingers and holding what was left of his hand together. KeruA used its mass to pry the shackle free. An idea struck the inkling, Felix grinning inhumanly as KeruA got used to using a human body. Above came the distant rumbling of shifting rock, the inkling carefully cracking and loosening the mass above his head. He looked up, both of Felix's eyes were a metallic violet, which only one person would ever see. The torturer couldn't scream, as petrified as he was that moment. The room began to collapse. Huge chunks of rock fell in, crushing anything it hit. The inkling pushed each rock before it hit Felix, moving his body up through the cascade of stone. With one final leap, KeruA pushed clear of the rubble into fresh air, and a mercifully dark night. "I offered you power you could never imagine" KeruA said, though Felix was completely unconscious. Humming to himself, he strolled home, savouring the escape. As for the nails still sitting clear through two of his knuckles? KeruA pocketed them as a souvenir.

Nine Chapters so far and I would love some feedback. The question is: Should I expand my chapters or write more short ones? As you can see, each chapter is in chronological order and focuses on a single character... Is it too much? Your comments will help improve this story!